Torah

All of Jewish life appears to be a system of cycles and circles. We celebrate the same holidays every year, as we pass through the same twelve months, as we go through the same cycle of reading the Torah. However, as we have explained thus far, the ideal is not to transcend this circular system, but to uplift it, to transform the circle into a spiral, and to find deeper ways of creating newness within the circular system.

A speaker once started his seminar by holding up a $100 bill. “Who would like this $100 bill?” he asked.

(Part 2)

There may be nothing more enchanting, mystical, and mysterious than the wonder of music. In our previous article, we began to develop a deeper understanding of the concept of music, its cyclical nature, and the Torah ideas related to circles. To review, a circle represents spiritual death. It is a geometric anomaly; it is the only shape with no newness—no turns, no corners, and no changes. It has no beginning and no end. A circle is a cycle that goes nowhere; it lacks evolution and generates no growth. No point on the circle is unique, with each point equidistant from the center. A circle simply cycles back on itself without making any progress.

We experience life through the medium of time. Each new moment brings with it new opportunities as we ascend through this journey of time. Amidst these constantly moving waves of time, the chagim are specific and set points that carry with them unique energy. Each holiday presents us with the chance to tap into and experience the theme inherent to that point in time. Before we delve into the specific theme and uniqueness of Shavuos, we must first understand time in general.

It came out of nowhere. A flood of emotions suddenly hit Shimon, and before he knew what was happening, there were tears streaming down his face. He immediately pulled over and tried to regain his composure. Strangely enough, he had no idea why he was crying. He sat there for a few minutes before it suddenly hit him hard.

We are all drowning in Western culture, where physical beauty takes the front seat—or the only seat—in life. But to fully understand the present-day challenge of beauty, we must understand the spiritual concept of beauty in all of its depth. To do so, let us try to understand the spiritual concept of beauty by tracing it back to the creation of Man before Adam HaRishon’s sin.